Olympia : Expansion Arc

Chapter 9

Percy has almost wished he didn't wake up the very next morning. Last night seemed like a blur as he could barely remember most of it. There was a lot of moaning, screaming, furniture being moved, banging on the wall, and some other stuff.

His apartment looked like it had been ransacked by burglars.

He woke up feeling conflicted. Was he feeling happy? Was he feeling guilty? Was it both?

As he sat up, he noticed that Annabeth was already awake and was sitting at the edge of the bed. Her bare skin seemed to glisten under the sun as her messy blonde hair flowed down her back.

"You're awake," Percy said, as if it wasn't obvious enough.

Annabeth nodded silently. Percy's head was still trying to recall bits and pieces of last night. It was like he was trying to understand whether it really did happen.

Both of them sat in silence on the bed for a good half an hour before anyone did anything.

"Can I get you anything?" Percy asked.

He felt like jumping off a building. But in his defense, what do you say in this situation? Sorry for sleeping with you even though we're friends let's pretend this never happened haha.

Percy figured that's not really how things work.

"No," Annabeth replied absently. Percy was about to get up when she asked her question. "What was this?"

"What do you mean?" Percy asked.

"What was this to you? What did last night mean?"

To be honest, Percy didn't really know. If he said this was something serious, then he risks ruining their friendship. But on the contrary, if he said this was just a one-night stand, he would be lying because it was so much more than that.

Plus, he knew Annabeth would kick his nuts if he gave her that kind of answer. He didn't want to risk it.

"I . . . I don't know." Percy admitted.

"Figures." Annabeth said with a slight tone of relief. It seems she's having a hard time defining their relationship after all. Then she stood up and starts getting dressed. "Last night never happened, you hear me?"

"Wait, what do you-"

"It was a bad move on my behalf." Annabeth said as she put her shirt on. For some reason, she was reluctant to meet Percy's eyes. "Let's just forget any of this happened."

"Annabeth, can you just wait for a-"

"It's fine." Annabeth cut him off again. "We'll just act normally after this. We can go on our separate lives."

"Annabeth, will you just listen to-"

"I said it's fine!" Annabeth snapped. It wasn't until Percy saw her face directly that he realized she'd been crying.

"No, it's not." Percy insisted. "We have to figure this out and-"

"Figure what out?" Annabeth gave a pained smile. "This was just a temporary fling. Nothing more."

"Nothing more?" Percy asked. He felt a bit annoyed by that answer. This wasn't just a temporary fling. "Is that how you look at this?"

Annabeth wiped her tears. "What do you want me to say, Percy?" Annabeth asked. "That I love you? That I want you? That I wish that you are mine even though that is totally immoral because one of my friends loves you but I don't care because . . ." Annabeth stopped herself. "I should go." She said as she made her way to the door.

"Annabeth please just-"

"It's fine, Percy." Annabeth said while sobbing. "I know you can't make this choice so I'll make it for you. Goodbye." Annabeth said as she left and slammed the door shut behind her, leaving Percy utterly confused and conflicted.